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Assange: U.S. 'Must Renounce Witch Hunt Against WikiLeaks'

Julian Assange said on Sunday that the United States "must renounce its witch hunt against WikiLeaks" in his first public appearance since taking refuge at Ecuador's embassy in London two months ago.

Speaking from an embassy balcony, Assange called on President Obama to end the United States' "war on whistleblowers," and to put a stop to the prosecution of "any media organisation, be it WikiLeaks or The New York Times."

"The United States must dissolve its FBI investigation," said Assange. "The United States must vow that it will not seek to prosecute our staff, our supporters. The United States must pledge before the world that it will not pursue journalists for shining a light on the secret crimes of the powerful."

Assange also demanded that the United States release Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army soldier who was arrested in 2010 for allegedly giving classified documents to WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks has published the material in question, but neither Assange nor any other WikiLeaks staff member has ever confirmed if Manning was the source.

"If Bradley Manning really did as accused, he is a hero, an example to us all and one of the world's foremost political prisoners," said Assange, who added that Manning has been imprisoned for 815 days without trial.

Following Assange's speech, Manning's name quickly became a trending topic on Twitter.

Assange also thanked his supporters who appeared on the street outside the embassy, as well as the Ecuadorian government and other governments of Latin America.

The embattled WikiLeaks founder sought protection at Ecuador's embassy in London on June 19 after exhausting his judicial options for appealing extradition from the UK to Sweden. He's been granted asylum by Ecuador, but the UK won't allow him safe passage to leave the embassy.

Prosecutors in Sweden want to question Assange about allegations of sexual misconduct, but Assange believes the extradition request is the product of a back-room deal between Sweden and the United States. Assange fears the American government wants to prosecute him for WikiLeaks' release of classified American documents.

Assange made no mention during his address of the allegations of sex crimes made against him.

Julian Assange: His History and Story

Julian Assange

Julian Assange, 40, is an Australian-born political activist and journalist known for his controversial website WikiLeaks, which has published leaked documents that allege government and corporate misconduct. Assange fell into his career path after he was a hacker-activist in his early days.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia

Exposing the Government

From publishing material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya to toxic waste dumping in Côte d'Ivoire, Assange has long sought to bring controversial concepts to the forefront. On 28 November 2010, WikiLeaks and its five international print media partners (Der Spiegel, The New York Times, Le Monde, The Guardian and El País) began publishing U.S. diplomatic cables.

Beyond WikiLeaks

In addition to controversy surrounding the published documents in 2010, Assange's personal life became the center of a media uproar when he was arrested and taken into custody amid sex crime allegations. He remains a subject of a grand jury investigation in the U.S. and awaits the ruling of Britain’s Supreme Court regarding the possibility of extradition to Sweden.

Free Julian Assange Protests

The self-described “protector of victims” continues to fight extradition to Sweden before Britain’s Supreme Court. The appeal is Assange’s latest move to avoid being sent to Sweden to answer allegations of sexual crimes.

The World Tomorrow

Although Assange is under house arrest, he has hardly stayed out of the public eye. He recently completed filming episodes for his upcoming reality TV show "The World Tomorrow," which will air on Tuesday, April 17 on the Russia Today (RT) network. It was filmed over the past two months at his temporary home in England. The focus is a series of conversations with "some of the most interesting and controversial people alive in the world today."

In the Public

Court appearances and his new series aren't the only times the public has seen Assange recently. He played himself in the 500th episode of The Simpsons in February by recording his lines while under house arrest and was directed remotely. He also recently announced plans to run for a seat in the Australian Senate.

Assange, The Movie

Actor Anthony LaPaglia is expected play a detective tracking a young Assange in an upcoming film that focuses on his early days involved with Internet hacking. In the made-for-TV movie called Underground produced by Australian TV station Network Ten and set for global distribution through NBCUniversal, Assange will be played by film newcomer Alex Williams.

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